I was so fascinated at the sight and sound of a full-sized Chinook warping the air, just above sea level with the coastal waters splashing up, forming a 'fountain' around it. What a magnificent sight it was, on National Day in Singapore.

Little did I know that I will be building a "Chinook" with a pair of Esky King1 kits a few months after that. It's really simple forward thinking that since a King1 heli uses a torque-tube for driving the tail rotor, one could easily hook up another King1 body to that shaft driven boom unit, replacing the tail rotor entirely.

The King1 Tandem will have a single outrunner driving the 1st rotor directly and the 2nd rotor driven via the torque-tube.

Ideally, the King's 275mm blades will be replaced by the Esky CP2's 246mm blades. The plan would have been 'flawless' in a flybarless Tandem setup.

To prevent the blade of one rotor from clashing against the flybar paddle of the other rotorhead, the CP2 blades need to be trimmed down to 200mm.

Arh, the same length as the blades you see on a 200-size micro model! The GAUI EP200 is a good example! Unfortunately, the EP200's blades have a narrow airfoil width and they can't generate enough lift to carry the bulky mass of two King1 bodies.

The 200-size SkyArtec Wasp V3 FP-heli has blades which measured '200mm x 30mm'. They generate enough lift but unfortunately, they are semi-symmetrical because they are designed for fixed-pitch's application.
V3 later...Continue Reading

I entered this Hobby in Feb 2005. But I mastered my first stable hover only in April 2005, all thanks to the frustrating and futile attempt to fly the Nikko Skywatcher, my first RC heli, which is a complete waste of time. For US$107, it is a major disappointment. Trust me, it's nothing close to the $40 PicooZ or the $70 Micro Mosquito, it can't even hold a hover in one place.

I have 5 RC helicopters in all, but none are collective pitch. See Pics below

I had badly wanted to have a T-Rex. Back then, Align only had the HDE and CDE version.

Recently, I ordered the Phantom450 from Scott of RC-TEK. At US$90, the price is unbeatable and it is almost like an Align Trex 450XL CDE.

As a fan of the famous TV Series 'AirWolf' when I was a child, my intention is to build the Phantom-450, get the hang of flying it, put the mechanics into a 450-size Fiber-glass AirWolf Scaled Fuselage and enjoy cruising the AirWolf Phantom in the college field near my home.

Since there is no thread dedicated solely to Phantom-450 AIRWOLF build, I decided to start mine here.

Please feel free to drop in and share valuable ideas and pictures. And wish me luck!!